THE families whose children died at Hillsborough have been asked to lodge official complaints regarding the alleged phone-tapping following the 1989 disaster.

Police watchdogs are being called on to probe claims that the phones of families whose children died at Hillsborough were tapped

POLICE watchdogs are being called on to probe claims that the phones of families whose children died at Hills-borough were tapped.

Campaigners believe conversations were secretly listened to by police after the disaster which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans.

In one account, from a mum whose 14-year-old son Philip died, Hilda Hammond was on the phone to a friend in Liverpool and was able to hear another Hillsborough mum chatting on the phone at her home in Middlesex.

In 1990, phone-tapping was allowed but would have required an application for a warrant from police to the Home Secretary.

Hilda said: “We heard a crackling noise. All of a sudden I heard a voice which I immediately recognised as Jenni Hicks.

“She was talking to someone who was telling her he had a cold and she suggested he take some Lemsips for it. I sat there dumbfounded.”

Jenni’s teenage daughters Sarah and Victoria died at Hillsborough.

She recalls the chat and she added: “It’s not above the bounds of reality our phones were being tapped.”

The allegations are set to be reported to the Independent Police Complaints Commission who are investigating police misconduct surrounding the 1989 tragedy.

They have asked the families to make a complaint so it can be investigated.